“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”- Martin Luther King, Jr.

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

In the news ...

The following two news articles of interest popped up in my Facebook feed this morning:

Rep. Robert Brawley has filed a bill to once again allow lobbyists to give unreported gifts to N.C. legislators. House Bill 640 "would roll back many of the ethics reforms passed by state lawmakers in the wake of the Speaker Jim Black scandal of 2006," reports WRAL.com. "The measure would repeal bans on gifts from lobbyists to lawmakers and relax requirements that lobbyists disclose such gifts."

Click here for WRAL's full story. I have asked Brawley for a response on Facebook; I'll post an update if he responds.

*** Edited: Rep. Brawley responded on Facebook last night. Here's what he said:

"All the ethics laws passed after Jim Black went to jail, did nothing but make crooks out of honest people. If a person has integrity they will not be involved in unethical behavior, If they do not have integrity then no law will make them ethical, so I propose to allow people to deal with each other and report it. If the public considers the dealings unacceptable then they can speak with their vote. Much better than forcing it underground and acting as if it does not exist."

Also in the news this morning, WSOC-TV reports that due to contaminant levels, people should limit the number of fish they eat from Lake Norman and Mountain Island Lake. The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services, according to the report, says the water itself is safe, but it recommends that people eat no more than two meals a month of large-mouth bass and one meal a week of striped bass from Lake Norman. Also from WSOC's report: "The department also recommends that people not eat any channel catfish from Mountain Island Lake ... (and) that pregnant women and young children shouldn't eat largemouth bass or blue catfish from the lake, and everyone else should eat those fish sparingly."

15 comments:

Sue Spath
said...

I think Rep. Brawley has lost his mind. He just tried to railroad through a bill that would allow his "friend" in Troutman to de-annex 23 acres in the middle of town. What kind of precedent does that start? Now he is trying to get this gift bill passed? Kinda makes you wonder what kind of gift he could possibly have gotten from his "friend".

Rep. Brawley is a RINO and to be honest he was booted out by the voters earlier in recent years. I know for a fact that he was not wanted back in the state legislature by those in his own party. He's had too many problems, we need regular folks in office who have some integrity and common sense. Greed knows no boundaries...or political parties either!

For those needing a history lesson on Brawley, http://projects.newsobserver.com/taxonomy/term/35,1024

"According to Black's testimony, Brawley had agreed to cross party lines and support Black for speaker. But Black said Brawley told him about being approached by Brubaker to come back into the GOP fold.

Black said Brawley told him that Brubaker asked what it would take to get his vote back, and that Brawley told Brubaker he wanted $300,000 in a trust fund for his children."

Ok....Robert and the rest of the group needs to come home at next election. I have never seen a bunch of any more irresponsible legislators. So much for our sending "conservative" legislators to Raleigh. They all seem confused about what conservative means. It certainly doesn't mean submit crazy bills like allowing non lawyers to be judges....forcing people to go through a two year separation process before being divorced....allowing lobbyist to give undisclosed gifts to legislators....and I could go on and on....

In case you guys missed it, I edited this post to include Rep. Brawley's response. Here's what he said about the reason he introduced the bill:

"All the ethics laws passed after Jim Black went to jail, did nothing but make crooks out of honest people. If a person has integrity they will not be involved in unethical behavior, If they do not have integrity then no law will make them ethical, so I propose to allow people to deal with each other and report it. If the public considers the dealings unacceptable then they can speak with their vote. Much better than forcing it underground and acting as if it does not exist."

I went to him for an issue. He talked a good game. I got zip. Now all I get is LinkedIn requests. Like I am going to play that. If he has time for that, he has time to do our business. And I mean OUR business.

How did this guy get elected? Why he just stand up on a big old soapbox and say he wants to line his pockets and get what he can get anyway he can get it? He is not there for us. He is there for himself. I already have learned the hard way. I called for some help and now all I'm getting is his Link In requests or whatever it is by email. He is a world class opportunist. Of course, an insurance guy would know the ins and outs of that. He knows how to deny and shaft you out of your claim but he knows how to make a profit. Typical insurance guy.

This doesn't have anything to do with Brawley. I'm hoping the message will get to MGSD that a phone call every night is TOO much! They are asking people to come to the commissioner's meeting about bond funds but they weren't smart enough to ask for an appointment with the commission. If you look at the agenda, http://iredell.granicus.com/DocumentViewer.php?file=iredell_890ae30020df667d820302a4d48938b2.pdf&view=1 people will be wasting their time to go.

Iredell County is a police state. DUI checkpoints all over the place. I feel like when I leave my house to go to work now I'll be entering another country. I have to leave 30 mins early now just in case the sheriff nazi's have set up a road block so im not late for work. Im sick of this treatment as if we are all criminals. Checkpoints: Iredell County had the most checkpoints and “saturated patrols” in the area, with 276. Go sit outside a bar if you want to catch drunk drivers or stop letting drug dealers out of jail because they snitch. Im going to move from this hell hole in North Carolina.

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About Me

I was a newspaper reporter in Mooresville, NC for a decade and covered local government issues from 2003 to 2006. I continued freelancing for a portion of 2007. Here are some of my accomplishments from 2004 to 2006: 3rd Place, Investigative Reporting, 2004, from the N.C. Press Association (NCPA) for series of articles titled, "Library director firing controversy." 3rd Place, Community Service Award (the highest honor the NCPA bestows on a community newspaper), 2004, for series on the Mooresville librarian firing controversy. 3rd Place, Investigative Reporting, from the NCPA in 2005 for series on Mooresville's wastewater treatment plant expansion titled "Something stinks in Mooresville." 3rd Place, Community Service Award, from the NCPA in 2005 for "Something stinks in Mooresville” series. June 2005, "Best News Story" MegAward for outstanding journalism at Media General newspapers for "Wastewater costs: Town outspending most." 1st Place, Community Service, from NCPA in 2006, for series titled "Morrison Plantation: A Deadly Intersection." September 2007, "Best News Story" MegAward for outstanding journalism for "No receipts? No problem. Town pays company's bills anyway."